Elvis’ Restored BMW 507 Roadster Is Drop-Dead Gorgeous

This has to be one of the most jaw-dropping restorations we’ve ever seen. It’s of the BMW 507 roadster once driven by the King of Rock ‘n Roll. Calling it drop-dead gorgeous is an understatement.

Elvis’ BMW 507 Restored

The stunning two-seater just underwent a two-year restoration at the hands of experts with BMW’s Classic Group. It wasn’t an easy task to return it to its former glory either. The car was in horrible shape when they got it. Rust was eating away at the floor. The seats were worn. There wasn’t an instrument panel. To make matters worse, it didn’t even have an engine or gearbox.

So as you can imagine, it took a lot to get it back into tip-top shape. The BMW team built a brand new V8 engine for it, restored the worn leather seats from the ground up, and bid farewell to the red paint. It was originally white, but Elvis gave it a red paint job to hide lipstick and messages left by fans.

It’s not just notable because Elvis Presley drove it, either. It’s also extremely rare. BMW only built 254 of the roadsters between 1955 and 1959.

So here’s what it looked like before the restoration.

And here’s what it looks like now.

Elvis’ BMW 507 History

Elvis bought the 507 roadster while he was stationed with the U.S. Army in Germany back in the late 50s.

After that it essentially went missing for decades. That is, until a reporter finally tracked it down to a pumpkin warehouse in Northern California back in 2009. We can only imagine it was quite a moment to discover the BMW 507 with chassis number 70079 in that pumpkin barn.

The Bimmer magazine reporter, Jackie Jouret, also found out more about the 507’s pre-Elvis history along the way. As it turns out, Elvis didn’t buy it new. It had previously been used by racing driver Hans Stuck.

We also now know Elvis traded it in to a New York Chrysler dealership when he came back to America. It changed hands several times after that before ending up in that pumpkin barn. It’s really a fascinating history and you can more about it on BMW’s website.

According to BMW, this particular 507 rolled off the assembly line on September 13, 1957. Hans Stuck then raced it, and Elvis became the owner in December of 1958.